Terry McAlister eager to listen

Running for third term as mayor

Fort Morgan Mayor Terry McAlister is running for re-election in November. If successful, it would be his third term as mayor. (Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times)

Terry McAlister considers himself a listener.

That's part of why he is running for a third term as mayor of Fort Morgan, but it's also why he retired in August from his job selling irrigation pumps at Canfield Drilling.

"I just decided throughout the summer I had one term left as mayor if I could get elected, and I wanted to spend more time" listening to city residents, he said.

Talking with people comes fairly naturally to McAlister.

Much of his working life was spent in sales, whether the product was automobiles or irrigation pumps.

Now, he is working on a different kind of sale: himself.

Part of making that sale is being sure he knows what people want in their mayor and that he can deliver it.

Even though he's been successful in this before, he knows he will have to work just as hard this time. So he's using his just-begun retirement to allow him to put in that work.

This isn't McAlister's first go at retirement, though.

He and his wife, Linda, have lived in Fort Morgan since 1972.

Terry worked for the Ford dealer in Brush from 1973 to 1983.

Then when the Ford dealership in Fort Morgan became available, he and a partner bought it.

They sold it in 2000, and Terry retired from the sales world.

That retirement lasted about three years, but "then I got bored and went back to work," he said.

He also decided to take a stab at entering politics and public service.

"Back in 2003, I just wanted to experience something different," Terry said. "I had never been in politics, and I wanted to try it."

His sales background was a good one for politics, he decided.

"I had always been a people person," he said. "And even in the car business, I tried to be fair. Yes, we had to make money, but I didn't try to take advantage of people. It's the same thing with politics."

He said striking a fair balance is very important.

"You need to have good common sense," he said. "You're never going to make all the people happy, but as long as you're trying your hardest to be fair, that's what's important."

His first entrance into politics was as an appointed city councilman in 2003. He served on the council until his election as mayor in 2009. He currently is in his second term, to which he was appointed when no one ran against him in 2011.

Part of how he makes sure he's being fair as either a councilman or mayor, he said, is by listening as much as he can.

"Being a good listener can take you further," the almost-63-year-old said. "I've learned to listen to what people think. Sometimes you can get yourself out of a bad situation or learn" just by listening to others.

Terry said he likes hearing other people's ideas, which "may be better than your own."

"I've learned that a lot of times, problems can be solved by listening, rather than being vocal," he said.

He was quick to point out that learning to listen showed him that "I'm not always right."

When he is discussing things with people, though, he also plays devil's advocate, trying to get them to think things through from multiple angles.

"A lot of people are so positive, they can't see the 'what if,'" Terry said.

And he considers that part of what he does as mayor, too, helping get the city council to explore various scenarios and really think through issues.

"I try to get all the aspects that could happen out in the open," he said. "It all boils down to a good discussion. I can talk all night if I want, but I want other ideas. I want to try to get seven people involved instead of one."

And Terry said he previously was on a council where it didn't feel like that was the case.

He said the charter change that the city approved while he was still on the council was a good thing. It shifted the day-to-day operations and decisions about the city to a strong city manager, instead of the council running everything.

The council still controlled the purse strings and set the agenda, but the city manager then carried out that agenda.

"At first, I wasn't sure," Terry said. "It was new to me. But someone told me, 'we need one person to run the city, not seven.'"

He said the change had been a smart one.

"I can remember the times before the charter change," he said. "It wasn't so smooth. It was really rough. It was embarrassing."

He compared that time with what's happening currently in Log Lane Village, with a dysfunctional council that was fighting each other and not accomplishing things.

Terry said he was pleased with how things run in the city now.

He pointed to a recent council meeting where not all the votes were unanimous, but the meeting was still civil and things were accomplished.

"Afterward, we were all friends, and we move on to the next subject," he said of split votes. "It was done."

He said that type of stability was a good thing for the city.

"It's been running very smooth," Terry said, "and it's gotten progressively better. I just love it, because I remember when it wasn't that way."

He said he wants to see the city government "keep moving forward" and he plans to keep listening for the ideas that will help make that happen.

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